A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 181 
are the portion most desired, as the system of fattening 
causes the livers to grow to immense size. The liver will 
cover a dinner plate heaping full and often weighs as 
much as 3% pounds. In France geese are specially fat- 
tened in a similar way and the livers are used in making 
the delicacy known as pate de foi gras, a mixture of goose 
liver and truffles, much prized by epicures who are able 
to satisfy their appetites at any price. The geese spe- 
cially fattened in Europe have their feet nailed to the 
floor so they cannot move, but-no such cruel practice is 
followed in Wisconsin, as the \Visconsin goose fattener 
merely pens his birds in a limited area. The skin also 
is prepared as a delicacy and the breast cured and smoked, 
selling at delicatessens at something like 50 cents per 
pound to certain people, who have learned to prize it. 
After the geese are hatched they are raised in the ordi- 
nary way, most farms having a running stream along 
which the geese graze. They are fed corn and other 
grains to keep them growing thriftily until about Thanks- 
giving, when the special process of feeding begins. They 
are then confined to dry, clean quarters 10 to 15 in a 
flock, from 8 to 14 square feet being allowed to each 
goose. Thus a fleck of 10 would be confined in a pen of 
from 8’x10’ to one 10’x14’, according to convenience or 
the estimate of the owner as to the best size for the flock. 
Geese are naturally timid and shy when allowed to 
run at large, and the first thing in beginning feeding is to 
reconcile them to the presence of the feeder. Strangers 
are not allowed to enter the yards and they are treated 
in a way to gain their confidence. The feeding or “stuff- 
ing,” as it is called, is begun gradually, the geese being 
fed lightly three times a day. Gradually the quantity of 
feed is increased and the number of meals in a day in- 
